Russian President Vladimir Putin Named Forbes' Most Powerful Person in the World; Obama Remains Second
Forbes Magazine has named Russian President Vladimir Putin as the most powerful person in the world for the second consecutive year. The U.S. publication has officially announced its annual rating of the most powerful people in the world on its Web site. Mr Putin is ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama who came in second in the list and Chinese President Xi Jinpin in third place. Forbes' top three has not changed since 2013.
According to Forbes, Mr Putin has never been out of the top three places since 2011 when he was second in the rankings as prime minister. He fell to third place in 2012 after German Chancellor Angela Merket rose in the Forbes list. Mr Obama ranked first in 2012.
Previous reports said Forbes had predicted Mr Putin's reputation to strengthen no matter the outcome of the crisis in Ukraine. As for Mr Obama remaining in second place, the magazine remarked that the problem was not in his personal characteristics but in the U.S. in general which Forbes thinks has nearly lost all advantages in trying to create a global diplomatic agenda. Forbes believes the U.S. has "thrown away" what was once a great leverage.
Vlad Sobell, a professor at the Prague campus of New York University, told Ria Novosti that Mr Putin's secret to success was his combination of "exceptional intelligence and deep understanding of hard power." The professor believes Mr Putin knows when to use military power and when to avoid it. Sobell said the Russian leader also knows how to play on the weaknesses of his foes and repel counterattacks. Mr Putin is currently facing what Sobell thinks as a "non-linear warfare" attack by the U.S. and its allies.
The state media reported that Mr Putin is popular in Russia with high approval ratings at 49 percent based on a Levada Centre poll. In contrast, Asia Times correspondent Pepe Escobar said Mr Obama may be losing ground in terms of foreign policy. He believes that unlike Mr Putin, Mr Obama does not talk with people beyond his closed circle and is always surrounded by "mediocre advisers."
Forbes' Most Powerful People list is selected based on the results of a voting panel composed of the magazine's editors who consider factors like a person's use of power, scope, financial resources and the number of people a person has influenced or affected. Forbes said the people on its list have the power to shape and bend works, move people, armies, markets and minds.
Roman Catholic Church leader Pope Francis was ranked fourth in the list followed by Germany's Angela Merkel. Microsoft founer Bill Gates ranked sixth while Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page tied in the Top 9.
